Zayo Group CEO Dan Caruso discussed potentially going public in 2011 as early backers looked to exit from the Boulder-based Internet network operator. Instead, the company secured an investment from private equity firm GTCR in connection with Zayo’s $2.2 billion acquisition of AboveNet.

Caruso’s at it again. In a recent interview with The Denver Post, he said an IPO in the next year or two would be the “most likely scenario” as the company’s original investors look to cash out. Founded in 2007, Zayo operates an international fiber-optic backbone, connecting thousands of office buildings and data centers to a high-speed communications network.

The company said no credit card information was stolen and only two Kickstarter accounts appear to show “unauthorized activity.” However, hackers were able to access other data, such as passwords and email addresses. The company recommends that users change their password on the site and any others with the same password.

CenturyLink is sending this notice to Colorado customers about the new $1.55 surcharge.

Colorado’s largest telephone company is adding a new fee to monthly phone bills, one it classifies as a “non-telecom services surcharge.”

CenturyLink said the $1.55 monthly fee is related to voicemail and inside wiring maintenance. The company states on its website that only customers who subscribe to those services will be required to pay the surcharge. Inside wiring maintenance covers the “repair or replacement of damaged inside wiring or jacks.”

Some CenturyLink Colorado customers recently received notices stating that the fee will take effect March 21.

A Public Utilities Commission spokesman said the company doesn’t need approval for the fee because it is tied to unregulated services.

Questions continue to swirl over insurance coverage for drivers and passengers, with Colorado Public Utilities Commission Director Doug Dean suggesting Tuesday that the measure would force insurers to raise auto rates statewide because of a new requirement proposed by the bill’s sponsors.

Senate Bill 125 would classify Lyft and UberX as transportation network companies, or TNCs, and place them under limited PUC oversight. Lyft and UberX have developed smartphone apps that connect passengers with drivers, who use their personal cars for the ride.

SB 125 passed by a 5-2 vote and is heading to Senate Appropriations. Read more…

FCC to lay out open Internet plans in the coming days. (The Denver Post file)

BOULDER – The Federal Communications Commission wants to maintain an “open Internet” and will soon disclose how it plans to do so.

Last month, a federal appeals court threw out so-called net neutrality rules the FCC had adopted to prevent Internet service providers such as Comcast and CenturyLink from favoring certain online content and blocking others. The FCC has been on the clock since that ruling.

“In the coming days, I will be outlining how we propose to proceed,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday at a Silicon Flatirons conference at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Read more…

Specifically, the businesses allegedly misrepresented that they abide by an international privacy framework known as the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor, which allows U.S. companies to transfer consumer data from the European Union to the U.S.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday proposed settlements with the 12 businesses, which include two other pro football teams, the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons.

“Under the proposed settlement agreements, which are subject to public comment, the companies are prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they participate in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization,” the FTC said in a statement.

Level 3, which operates one of the world’s largest Internet networks, said the settlement covers a “technical issue” and “at no point in time was the privacy of personal information compromised as a result of this issue.”

A Broncos spokesman issued the following statement: “This issue was caused by a clerical error related to the renewal of our privacy certification. It has since been resolved, and our website is in full compliance with all privacy regulations.”

Denver-based FullContact, which aims to create a Dropbox-like platform for the contact information stored on smartphones, computers and other consumer electronics, announced Wednesday that it has acquired Cobook, a fellow contact management startup.

As part of the cash-and-stock deal, Cobook’s half-dozen employees will move from Riga, Latvia, to Denver. FullContact CEO Bart Lorang said Cobook’s team will initially focus on creating a user-friendly contact management system for Apple gear.

Backed by Boulder’s Foundry Group, FullContact’s ultimate goal is to provide a “smart, unified address book in the cloud” for all devices.

“With the acquisition of Cobook, the plan is to provide our users with the same unified address book capabilities on iPhone, iPad and Mac,” FullContact CEO Bart Lorang wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Together, we’ll eventually provide users a seamless contact management experience on any device.” Read more…

The Top 10 blog posts on TechKnow Bytes in 2013 reflected the year in consumer technology: no major brand separated itself from the pack. In fact, the two stories that garnered the most page views for the year were from 2012, covering topics that appeared to resonate with readers.

Other top posts covered Apple, Facebook, wireless carriers and the story of how two 16-year-old app developers from Boulder garnered thousands of downloads for their iPhone program. Peyton Manning and lil bro Eli even made an appearance on the tech blog, showing that their appeal stretches well beyond sports. The Top 10: Read more…

Charlie Ergen is not quite ready to kiss and make up with Masayoshi Son.

Ergen’s Dish Network is mulling a bid for No. 4 wireless carrier T-Mobile, according to Reuters, which cited unnamed sources.

That news surfaces just a few days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint, the No. 3 wireless carrier, may attempt to purchase T-Mobile. And it comes just a day after Dish and Sprint jointly announced that they are partnering to test residential wireless broadband service in Texas in mid-2014.

Tamara Chuang covers personal technology and local tech news for The Denver Post. She previously spent 10 years doing the same thing for The Orange County Register before taking a hiatus to move here and become a SAHM to a precocious toddler.

Laura Keeney is a business reporter with The Denver Post, covering aerospace, aviation and biotech. Over the last two decades, she's covered everything from agribusiness to punk rock. Keeney holds an AACSB-accredited MBA from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY.